Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, when she was sacked by her own Conservative Party and replaced with John Major. She was a close ally of Ronald Reagan.

At the moment she sits in the House of Lords. She is


 * a vicepresident of the America APPG
 * a patron of the New Atlantic Initiative
 * president of the Conservative Way Forward group
 * honorary president of the Bruges Group
 * honorary patron of The Atlantic Bridge

and was
 * co-founder of the Centre for Policy Studies
 * co-founder of the International Democratic Union
 * National Committee on American Foreign Policy: Past Awardees

Margaret Thatcher and Philip Morris
In 1992 Margaret Thatcher signed on as an international consultant to the Philip Morris tobacco company at a pay rate of US $500,000 annually, with half to be paid directly to Mrs. Thatcher and half to be paid to the Margaret Thatcher Foundation..

According to the 19 July 1992 U.S. Sunday Times article, Ms. Thatcher's "advice will be sought on controversial issues including the penetration of tobacco markets in Eastern Europe and the Third World. She will alsos be asked to help resist attempts to ban tobacco advertising in the European Community and to fight cigarette taxes and state-run tobacco monopolies." Thatcher was a non-smoker who spoke out against tobacco several times while Prime Minister. 

The Independent (of London) reported that Philip Morris paid for a 70th birthday bash for Ms. Thatcher on 23 October 1995 in Washington, D.C. 800 guests attended and the estimated cost of the party was $1 million.

Related Sourcewatch

 * Bernard Ingham